Alaska

Supreme Court refusal leaves federal subsistence priority intact in Alaska

Published

1 month ago

January 15, 2026

Supreme Court refusal leaves federal subsistence priority intact in Alaska

Alaska Native communities secured a victory in their fight to maintain federal subsistence fishing protections after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear Alaska’s appeal, leaving in place a lower-court ruling that preserves decades of precedent.

The court declined to review Alaska v. U.S., which concerned the state’s authority to issue fishing openings that would conflict with existing federal subsistence rules, according to a Native American Rights Fund news release. By declining review, the high court allowed a Ninth Circuit decision to stand. As the state continues recovering from plummeting salmon populations, a federally-enforced priority for rural — primarily Alaska Natives — communities has limited the state’s ability to open fishing to others.

The Supreme Court’s refusal effectively ends decades of legal battles sometimes referred to as the “Katie John” cases after the Ahtna Athabascan elder who first challenged Alaska’s subsistence authority in 1985. John’s lawsuit, brought after the state denied her request to open fishing in her community, centered on the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act and its guarantee to prioritize rural communities relying on subsistence fishing over others.

John’s early 1990s victories, culminating in a 1995 ruling, established a precedent that handed control over that subsistence priority to the federal government due to its reserved water rights. That precedent was then reaffirmed in later cases in 2001 and 2014.The state’s most recent appeal sought to overturn those rulings and return control to Alaska, which argued that subsistence fishing should be open to anyone, not just rural communities.

“NARF filed Katie John’s first case in December 1985 and for 40 years has worked to protect the subsistence rights that sustain Alaska Native communities and cultures,” NARF Senior Staff Attorney Erin Dougherty Lynch said in a statement. “Today’s decision closes the door on decades of litigation aimed at eroding those rights.”

The conflict that led to this week’s decision began after years of declining salmon returns on the Kuskokwim River. According to court filings, managers restricted gillnet openings to rural residents during conservation periods to protect the remaining runs. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued overlapping emergency orders opening the same waters to all state residents, creating two sets of rules on the river at the same time.

The dispute began in 2021 when the state issued orders to open fishing that contradicted federal fisheries managers’ decision to keep it closed during a salmon shortage.

Federal agencies and tribal organizations challenged the state’s actions, arguing that the river segments in question fall within the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge and are therefore subject to federal subsistence management. Alaska Native groups, including the Alaska Federation of Natives and the Association of Village Council Presidents, sided with the federal government.

A federal district judge agreed and issued an injunction preventing the state from issuing conflicting openings. The Ninth Circuit upheld that ruling in 2025 and rejected Alaska’s broader challenge to the federal subsistence framework, according to Courthouse News Service.

The appellate panel’s decision relied on the earlier Katie John rulings, which recognized federal authority over certain navigable waters connected to federal lands. Because the Supreme Court declined review, that Ninth Circuit ruling — and federal subsistence priority under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act — remains in force.

About The Author

Staff Writer

Chez Oxendine (Lumbee-Cheraw) is a staff writer for Tribal Business News. Based in Oklahoma, he focuses on broadband, Indigenous entrepreneurs, and federal policy. His journalism has been featured in Native News Online, Fort Gibson Times, Muskogee Phoenix, Baconian Magazine, and Oklahoma Magazine, among others.

Alaska

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

Published

8 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Musician performs under the aurora in Nenana — without gloves, in 17 degrees

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – A musician with Alaska Native roots recorded an hour-long live set in Interior Alaska beneath the aurora.

Chastity Ashley, a drummer, vocalist and DJ who performs under the name Neon Pony, celebrated a year since she traveled to Nenana to record a live music set beneath the northern lights for her series Beats and Hidden Retreats.

Ashley, who has Indigenous roots in New Mexico, said she was drawn to Alaska in part because of the role drums play in Alaska Native culture. A handmade Alaskan hand drum, brought to her by a man from just outside Anchorage, was incorporated into the performance in February 2025.

Recording in the cold

The team spent eight days in Nenana waiting for the aurora to appear. Ashley said the lights did not come out until around 4 a.m., and she performed a continuous, uninterrupted hour-long set in 17-degree weather without gloves.

“It was freezing. I couldn’t wear gloves because I’m actually playing, yeah, hand drums and holding drumsticks. And there was ice underneath my feet,” Ashley said.

“So, I had to really utilize my balance and my willpower and my ability to just really immerse in the music and let go and make it about the celebration of what I was doing as opposed to worrying about all the other elements or what could go wrong.”

She said she performed in a leotard to allow full range of motion while drumming, DJing and singing.

Filming on Nenana tribal land

Ashley said she did not initially know the filming location was on indigenous land. After local authorities told her the decision was not theirs to make, she contacted the Nenana tribe directly for permission.

“I went into it kind of starting to tell them who I was and that I too was a part of a native background,” Ashley said. “And they just did not even care. They’re like, listen, we’re about to have a party for one of our friends here. Go and do what you like.”

Ashley said the tribe gave her full permission to film on the reservation, and that the aurora footage seen in the episode was captured there.

Seeing the aurora for the first time

Ashley said the Nenana performance marked her first time seeing the northern lights in person.

“It felt as if I were awake in a dream,” she said. “It really doesn’t seem real.”

She said she felt humbled and blessed to perform beneath the aurora and to celebrate its beauty and grandeur through her music.

“I feel incredibly humbled and blessed that not only did I get to take part in seeing something like that, but to play underneath it and celebrate its beauty and its grandeur.”

The Alaska episode is the second installment of Beats and Hidden Retreats, which is available on YouTube at @NeonPony. Ashley said two additional episodes are in production and she hopes to make it back up to Alaska in the future.

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Alaska

Over $150K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

Published

20 hours ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Over 0K worth of drugs seized from man in Juneau, police say

JUNEAU, Alaska (KTUU) – An Alaska drug task force seized roughly $162,000 worth of controlled substances during an operation in Juneau Thursday, according to the Juneau Police Department.

Around 3 p.m. Thursday, investigators with the Southeast Alaska Cities Against Drugs (SEACAD) approached 50-year-old Juneau resident Jermiah Pond in the Nugget Mall parking lot while he was sitting in his car, according to JPD.

A probation search of the car revealed a container holding about 7.3 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine, as well as about 1.21 gross grams of a substance that tested presumptively positive for fentanyl.

As part of the investigation, investigators executed a search warrant at Pond’s residence, during which they found about 46.63 gross grams of ketamine, 293.56 gross grams of fentanyl, 25.84 gross grams of methamphetamine and 25.5 gross grams of MDMA.

In all, it amounted to just less than a pound of drugs worth $162,500.

Investigators also seized $102,640 in cash and multiple recreational vehicles believed to be associated with the investigation.

Pond was lodged on charges of second-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, two counts of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance, five counts of fourth-degree misconduct involving a substance and an outstanding felony probation warrant.

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Alaska

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

Press Room

Sand Point teen found 3 days after going missing in lake

SAND POINT, Alaska (KTUU) – A teenage boy who was last seen Monday when the canoe he was in tipped over has been found by a dive team in a lake near Sand Point, according to a person familiar with the situation.

Alaska’s News Source confirmed with the person, who is close to the search efforts, that the dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga deceased Thursday in Red Cove Lake, located a short drive from the town of Sand Point on the Aleutian Island chain.

Kaminanga was last seen canoeing with three other friends on Monday when the boat tipped over.

A search and rescue operation ensued shortly after.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team posted on Facebook Thursday night that they were able to “locate and recover” Kaminanga at around 5 p.m. Thursday.

“We are glad we could bring closure to his family, friends and community,” the post said.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated when more details become available.

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